You, My Mate
by SerzShaaz
Summary: Draco, having just discovered his Veela heritage, gets introduced to the quirks of finding one's mate and beyond... story better than summary
1. Lord Malfoy

"You foolish girl! Where are you lost again?!!"

Hermione sighed and closed her eyes briefly in a silent prayer for patience before standing up from where she had been scrubbing at the floor. She strode rapidly to the lounge from where Mrs. Nott had been yelling.

"There you are, stupid girl," Mrs. Nott said. "Go and inform my son that there's a Floo call for him. Be quick!"

As Hermione turned to leave the room, she heard her mistress mutter about worthless servants of nowadays.

Hermione neared young Mr. Nott's room with apprehension. He always had an eye on her and sometimes tried to trick her. He would rub his hands on her thighs and try reaching more intimate parts of her body within seconds. She disliked…no hated such attention. Of course, the other maids thought she was too much of a prude and that she was crazy to refuse Mr. Nott's advances. But as she always told them, she'd rather stay prude and keep her dignity intact.

She knocked on the door hesitantly and went in when she was asked to. Mr. Nott looked up from the book he was reading and his face lighted up in interest.

"Hmm…my favourite girl in this house. Come near me," he requested, patting the space on the bed near him.

Instead of complying, Hermione rapidly delivered her message and fled from the room.

Theodore Nott grinned as he watched the servant girl run away like a scalded cat. She was the only one who resisted her and he had promised himself to have her, one way or the other.

However, as soon as he saw his friend's face in the fireplace of the lounge, all thoughts of the elusive servant girl flew out of his head.

"Draco! Long time, no see, mate."

"Yeah, I know mate. I've just returned from America and everything has been finally sorted out. So now, I'm officially the new Lord Malfoy."

Theodore's eyes threatened to pop out on hearing the news. After a while of random chats, Draco promised to come over the following day before biding goodbye to his friend. At that, Theodore slowly went back to his room, all the while processing the news.

It was common knowledge now that Narcissa Malfoy had never been faithful to the late Lucius Malfoy. However, not many knew that Draco Malfoy was not Lucius' son but that of a Veela. Theodore chuckled when he recalled his reaction to that particular information a few months back when his friend had explained why he had to move to America for a while. Hell, Theodore never even thought that Male Veelas existed.

After that, Draco went to America to meet with his biological father before legally taking over the Malfoy Empire.

Tomorrow would definitely be an interesting day, catching up with Draco. Their mothers have planned to have a girls day out tomorrow which was perfect for the boys. Yes, tomorrow is going to be fun.


	2. A Day At The Nott

Author Note: I sadly do not own Harry Potter and any of the characters...wish I did though. (sniff, sniff)

The next morning, Theodore waved goodbye to his mother as she apparated away to meet Mrs. Malfoy. A few seconds later, Draco apparated at the front door and they both walked in slowly, chatting.

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The day passed by very rapidly and without any incidents. In the evening, Hermione was asked to serve tea to Mr. Nott and his guest. Damning her bad luck constantly in her head, Hermione steeled herself before going to the living room to serve the bloody tea.

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Theodore looked away from Draco with whom he was talking to see who was coming in the room. On seeing Hermione coming with the tray, his smile widened instantly.

"Aah…now that's better! Draco, my friend, I would to introduce you to my favourite girl in this house. This is Hermione. Hermione, my dearest, this is Draco Malfoy; or Lord Malfoy, seeing that he is now the new head of the Malfoy household."

Hermione made a bow, careful not to drop the tray.

Draco found her very strange for a servant girl. He had a feeling that something was amiss with this girl. However, when she looked up and locked eyes briefly with him, he has to brace himself against the barrage of emotions that hit him forcefully and threatened to overwhelm his whole being.

He felt a strong attraction for her, he wanted to hold her, he wanted to love her, he wanted to protect her, he wanted to snatch that tray from her hands and destroy it. He wanted to remove those despicable servant clothes from her body and adorn her with the most exquisite attires of the whole universe. He wanted to claim her as his, and only his.

He also wanted to gouge Theodore's eyes out for daring to stare at her like that. When Theodore strode up to her and put an arm around her shoulders, he wanted to leave the place immediately. On seeing her trying to free herself from Theodore's embrace, Draco wanted to haul Theodore by his collar and break all the bones in the bastard's arm with his bare hands.

"Hey mate…what's going on with you?" asked Theodore while waving a hand in front of his friend's face.

Draco blinked and forced himself to focus on his friend instead of the servant girl.

"Draco, are you alright?" Theodore asked, a little worried at his friend's odd behaviour.

Draco stood up abruptly and straightened his clothes. "Theo, I'm very sorry but I got to run. I forgot that I have a previous engagement and I'm already late.

"What?" Theodore asked, gob smacked. "But you said that you are completely free for the whole week," he protested.

"Yeah, well, I was wrong about that. I forgot. I'm sorry Theodore, I must leave now. See you soon."

With that, he threw a pinch of powder in the fireplace and flooed away.

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Theodore stared at the fireplace stupidly for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what the hell had just occurred. On failing to do so, he shrugged and turned towards Hermione, who was still standing with her tray.

He smiled lustfully at her and motioned her nearer. She edged nearer, put the tray on the small table and started serving him tea. When she was done, she stood up and handed him the cup.

Ignoring the cup, Theodore lightly brushed his fingers against her arm and rested them on her shoulders. Hermione jerked away in disgust and the cup fell from her hands. She stared at the spilled tea in horror and froze with fear. Theodore laughed lightly and with a flick of his wand, the mess was cleaned up.

"There, nothing to fuss about. I won't tell my mother about it if you agree to be my _very special friend," _he said with a malicious wink. "So, my delicious Hermione…will you be my special friend?" he asked after a while.

Hermione stared at him; her feelings wavering between fear and utter disgust. In the end, she did what she did best in these situations. She turned and fled away from the room.

Theodore chuckled at her behaviour before returning slowly to his room. It was great fun seeing her run away from him like that. It always amused him having to fight a little to get what he wants. And right now, he wanted Hermione…and Hermione he will have.

'_Eventually…._' he promised himself.


	3. At LeFage Estate

**A.N: I am very happy with the response I am getting for my very first story. I hope you guys like it further on. Also, it may be that I won't be able to update several times a week, with my studies at the university and everything else…let's say once a week is feasible. So...I'm waiting for your reviews! Tell me how you like it...and what you'd like to add...if whatever you suggest goes along with my general idea of the storyline then...hey you will a little nit of you in this story ; )  
**

**Also, sadly for me...I don't own Harry Potter.  
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**Enjoy…  
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A very shaken Draco Malfoy stumbled and fell on his knees on reaching Malfoy Manor.

'_What's the matter with me?,' _he thought, on the verge of panicking. '_I never fall in the fireplace when I use the Floo. What the hell is happening to me?'_

He got up and weakly walked to a nearby chair and sat down, thinking. _'What should I do? Should I go to St Mungo's or maybe call a Healer here…'_

After some seconds, he shrugged off the idea of calling a healer or going to the hospital. He wasn't entirely sure that he could trust a stranger.

He suddenly wished that his mother had not gone shopping. He could have asked her about it. He could have asked his father but he could hardly do that seeing that Lucius Malfoy was thoroughly dead, thank Merlin for that.

At that thought, Draco firmly smacked himself on the forehead for being so silly. Of course, he could talk to his father!

'_How come I didn't think of it before? I am so stupid!'_

He strode back to the fireplace, took some powder and threw it in the fire. He knelt down, stuck his head in the fire and yelled, "LeFage Estate, America."

When his Floo connected to that of LeFage Estate, Draco shook his head to drive the feeling of dizziness. He looked around and found only an empty living room greeting him.

"Father, are you there? FATHER!!"

A tall, slim man rushed into the living room. He had a handsome face and an athletic build about him. Everything about him, from his platinum blond hair to his demeanour screamed aristocracy. Even though he was wearing casual muggle clothes, there was a graceful air around him which forced one to respect him automatically.

"Draco?? How come you are here?"

"Hello father. I wanted to talk to you about something. Are you free right now?," Draco asked.

"Yes of course! Come over then. I'll bring some coffee and something to eat. Oh and I'll have tea for you, don't worry."

Draco nodded and removed his head from the fireplace. He got up, massaging his knees. He went to retrieve his wand and wrote a note for mother, explaining his absence. Leaving the note to a house elf, he flooed over to his father's place.

* * * * * * * * * *

Robert LeFage turned towards the fireplace on hearing the roaring of fire as his son flooed over.

_It wasn't until a few months ago that 45yr old Robert LeFage came to know of the existence of his son. It had been a normal day for him when he received an owl from none other than his mate; Narcissa Malfoy. They had met at a party held at Malfoy Manor. As soon as he had set eyes on her, he knew right away that she was the mate he had been looking for. _

_Narcissa was unhappily married to Lucius Malfoy and had easily given in to Robert's courting after a few weeks. As divorce was not allowed in the Malfoy household, Narcissa started meeting Robert in hiding. Robert needed to see his mate regularly or else he would go crazy. Veelas had to find their mates and once found, could not live without them or else they would either become crazy or die._

_A few months after their affair started, Narcissa found out that she was pregnant and she knew that it was Robert's and not Lucius'. She made Robert believe that it was the child of Lucius. They continued to meet each other, though not as often as before, just enough to keep Robert sane and alive._

_Then some months ago, Narcissa's letter came, claiming Draco to be his son and shook Robert to the core. Robert found it hard to believe and said as much to Narcissa. However, she insisted that Draco was HIS son only. In the end, Robert agreed to meet the boy just once._

_When he finally met Draco, he knew then that Narcissa was right. Draco was a Veela and was also his son. Veelas could identify other Veelas very easily…especially their own kin. Family members always had an 'aura' around them, identifying them as family. And Draco was family…no doubt about that._

_After an initial moment of hesitation, they had hit off quite well and now it seemed as if they had known each other for eons._

_*******_

Robert smiled, as he watched his son fight off soot from his clothes. Chuckling, with a wave of his wand, he cleared Draco of the offending soot. Draco said shaky thanks and looked around the room, as if trying to find a distraction.

"Draco, come and sit down," Robert said. He handed a cup of tea to Draco, who sat down heavily. Robert busied himself with preparing a cup of coffee for himself and allowed his obviously confused son to collect himself.

"Alright, tell me now, what's going on?" Robert asked, sitting down with his own cup. "I've never seen you that flustered. What happened?"

Draco drank some tea to regain his calm. He stared at the fireplace for a while whereas his father was staring at him. Robert knew that he will have to wait for Draco to settle down to know what was going on.

A few minutes ago, Draco took a deep breath and then recounted everything to Robert, how he contacted Theodore Nott last night and how they had planned a day together. How he had watched the servant girl and had a feeling that something was not right about her. How when she had looked up and locked eyes with him, he had felt a surge of emotions which threatened to finish him off with their sheer force.

"I would like to know what happened to me when I saw that girl. What in Merlin's name is going on?" he asked as he finished his tale, hoping against hope that his father had the answer.


	4. Finding Your Mate

**A/N: Hello again guys…once more I'm so happy with the response I am getting. Please keep up with your encouraging comments…it boosts me up to continue on with this story. Just a summary on this story…I am not sure how long it's going to be, as long as my muse fills my head with ideas, the story will go on I guess. I don't have a definite storyline in my head waiting to be put down on paper…I am like everyone else, this story is slowly unfolding itself to me. Also, I would to mention again that any of you who has any ideas, please share it up…it might make this story even better!**

**As for my update trend…well I am already working on the 6****th**** chapter…but it's on paper. I get a HUGE writer's block whenever I try to work a story out directly on computer. I am a paper person…so it takes time for me to transfer everything on pc. Add to it my busy life, it results in being a bit long for updates. But I'll try my best. Also, some answers to some of your questions at the end of the story.**

**So now enough of me blah blah blah**

**Chapter 4 for you. Enjoy!!!**

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Robert slowly put his cup on the table in front of him and stared at his slowly panicking son in shock.

"Dad…father? Can you please tell me what is going on?," Draco asked fearfully. "Am I going to die or something?"

That comment shook Robert out of his stupor and he chuckled ruefully at his son's panicky expression. He couldn't deny that what his son just experienced could prove to be quite scary, especially when you are not prepared for it.

"No son, you are definitely not going to die," he replied, still amused by his son's far-fetched conclusion. "In fact, when I went through this, I felt as if I was being offered a new life."

Draco stared in confusion at his father, who right now was very very keen on talking in riddles, much to Draco's extreme annoyance. "Do you mean that you had this happening to you too?" he asked. "Hold on! Is this one of those Veela things?"

Robert smiled and nodded. "Yes it is a Veela thing as you so aptly described it."

"And what is it?" Draco asked impatiently before his father could even continue.

"This, my son, is called finding your mate," Robert answered with a wide smile. " I remember wanting to murder Lucius when I found your mother…."

"Hold on!!!," Draco cried out in shock. "You mean this _servant girl_ is MY mate?"

"Yes, she is your mate," Robert answered calmly.

"A servant girl?? Theodore's servant girl?? MY MATE??!!" asked Draco again, his voice achieving a higher pitch with each question.

Robert nodded silently again.

"But…but..that's not possible!" protested a slightly hysteric Draco Malfoy.

Robert could rightly see some problems ahead. Lucius bloody Malfoy has transmitted some prejudices to his son, prejudice that he; Robert will have to remove soon.

"Why is it not possible son?" he asked calmly.

"But father…she is a SERVANT!!! How can a servant girl be my mate??"

"Before being a servant, I believe that this girl is human, Draco. Some people are not as fortunate as us Draco but it does not make them any lower than us. If nature has chosen this girl as your mate, then she must the perfect one for you. She must be special. Right now, in my living room, you might not realise this fact…but you are unable to live without this girl, Draco. You need her as much as she needs you. Remember that always."

"Yes, yes I know that father. But…but…" Draco stuttered, trying to find to find other arguments.

"But what, Draco?" Robert cut in.

"She's not a Veela, father!" Draco proclaimed exuberantly, happy to have found a worthy argument to present to his father. "How can she be my mate when she's not even a Veela!!!"

" I am pretty much certain that her being not a Veela is not the real problem here." Robert answered, causing his son to wince a little at the tone of his voice. "But if this troubles you, then let me clarify it for you. It's not a problem that she is not a Veela. Your mother was not one either. I turned her into one. When you will mate with your chosen one and complete your bond, your Veela powers will transform her into a Veela too."

At this answer, Draco stared stupidly at his father, at loss for words. Robert took pity on his son and decided to give him a nudge in the right path.

"Alright Draco, listen to me carefully and try to forget your worries about her being a servant for now. Just tell yourself that she is just another girl like the other girls you see so often. Now, this girl has something special to her which makes her your mate. You cannot do anything about it, you cannot even ignore her. Your life depends on her son. If you stay away from her for too long, you'll go mad and eventually die from the want of her." Robert emphasised. It was important to make a point on his son rapidly before he got time to think too much about it and decided to go wrongly around the problem. " Just go to her and accept your feelings for her. Trust my word on this, son. You will be surprised at how special this girl is and how much she counts for you. Just give it a try."

All the while his father had been talking, Draco had been looking at his feet, thinking hard. He knew very well that his father was right and that he meant only to help him but it never included that he, Draco, would like what his father said.

After debating it over and over again, he looked up to see his father looking at him worriedly.

"You are right, father," Draco admitted with a sigh. "I will meet her tonight and see what comes out of this."

Robert smiled in satisfaction. It was not that hard after all, was it? "I am happy you decided to change your mind and give this girl her chance, son. You won't regret this decision, mark my words," he said with a wink.

Draco stayed for a few hours more, discussing the matter at hand over and over again, before deciding to go back to Malfoy Manor to get ready to meet his mate. He bade his father goodbye and flooed away.

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A few minutes after Draco was gone, Robert was still in the living room, thinking. He was happy and excited that his son had found his mate and was on his way to meet her. He remembered his old time too when he had discovered Narcissa. It was such a pleasant and exciting period of his life, full of surprises, joys and grief. But all in all, it had been worth everything he went through…after all, he now had his exquisite mate all to himself, and had a son. What more could he ask for?

As if fate decided to answer to him, the Floo roared again and his mate stepped through with a smile. Instantly, he was up and had swooped her in his arms. He dipped her by the waist and kissed her passionately. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss with fervour.

When he let go of her, she looked at him quizzically.

"What is going on, Robert?" she asked curiously. "Not that I mind your way of greeting me, but it has been a long time since you welcomed me like this. Something is going on, I can feel it."

He smiled at her mischievously, bringing his playful side up to the front. "Yes, my love. Something is definitely going on…but you will know about it soon enough when the time is right. It is not something bad…quite the contrary, I would say."

She smiled back, loving the mood her mate was in today. Since they had settled things out, Robert had been busy with all the legal aspects of the Malfoy Empire take over, Draco's adoption and other things. Because, Robert wanted to make it official that Draco was HIS son and not that of Lucius Malfoy. This had meant a moody Robert at times!

"I trust you," she said with a small smile. "I know you will do the right thing."

Robert kissed her once more and pulled her close to him. "I happen to have solved most of urgent matters concerning the adoption. We just have to wait and see now. I feel like taking a break of a few days long…Feel like joining in, my sweet mate?"

Narcissa's smile got; if possible, wider. "I am always up for spending time with you. I'll just floo home and grab some things then."

"Alright then, go on and don't take too long." Robert said with another peck. "I am waiting for you right here."

Narcissa accepted the peck and within a few seconds, was flooing back to Malfoy Manor, leaving a grinning Robert behind.

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**There you go guys! I am waiting for your reviews!**

**SerzShaaz**


	5. She's Beautiful!

**A/N: Hello, here's another chapter to this story...I know I've made you all wait for quite a while and I'm truly sorry. Busy life here...exams, family issues..the lot! Hope this chapter is appreciated and I'll try updating soon. No promises though!**

**On another note, some answers to the questions you asked in your review...**

**Margaritama: **

**I must admit that even for me, some parts of this story is still unclear as I said before, I am discovering this story too, little by little. But here's what I know and what I feel is right for it. Hermione is a witch yes, and and she's got powers. It will come later in the story. Hogwarts exists and Draco did attend it, but Hermione did not. Reasons for that are still unclear to me. Hermione is technically a paid servant but is over exploited in the Notts household. Also, there's a good reason I made Hermione mysterious..reason which I will not divulge here as it will spoil the story. And lastly, I haven't made up my mind on Voldemort yet.. Hope this clears it up for you..**

**Black wolfgirl2722:**

**I haven't decided yet if Hermione is going blond. We'll see what my muse feels like ahead... ; )**

**That's enough blabla I think. Enjoy this new chapter.**

**And oh yeah..J.K Rowling still owns Harry Potter.. sniff  
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Exactly two hours and forty-five minutes later, a slightly hassled Draco Malfoy was still in his bedroom, trying to find something suitable to wear for him to meet his mate. Not that he is going to admit it…no, Draco Malfoy doesn't have fits about petty things like what to wear to meet a girl…no…NEVER!

"Draco, darling?"

Draco looked up, startled, to see his mother looking at him from the bedroom entrance.

"Yes, mother?"

"Are you alright, son?" Narcissa asked worriedly. "Since you came back from your father's place, you seem disturbed. I have never seen you so stressed before."

"Yes, mother," replied Draco, in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. "I am perfectly fine, don't you worry."

"Alright then," she replied, although it was obvious that she was not convinced. "I'm going to spend a few days with your father. Do you want to join us? You could take some days to relax, you know."

"No thank you, mother. I have some matters to solve here." Draco replied distractedly, from inside his walk-in closet, rummaging around. "Besides, dad and you could use some private time just the two of you. I'll be alright, mother."

"Ok then, if you are sure," replied Narcissa, definitely not convinced, but knowing better than to insist.

As his mother left his room, Draco successfully found his black outfit…the very one he uses for flying. As he walked out of his closet, he felt his heart clench with fear and disgust at the same time for no apparent reason. He stopped in his tracks and tried hard to get back his bearings. These were not his feelings…they were his mate's….something was troubling her and it angered him to no end. He felt a strong urge to protect her and annihilate the thing or person causing his mate such distress. But, since she was too far, he had to brace himself and wait for the feeling to pass...and pass it did after a while.

*******

Another hour later, Draco Malfoy was standing in the yard of Nott Residence, unsure of his next course of action. He felt the need to meet his mate now, and it was becoming more and more pronounced as the minutes crawled by.

As soon as he approached Nott Residence, he had immediately sensed and singled out his mate's presence amongst the other people occupying the residence. However, his current predicament was how to locate his mate precisely in the house.

'_Great, what do I do now? Cry out for my mate in the middle of the bloody yard, and quietly hoping she doesn't freak out, that she comes out of the house and rush into my awaiting arms?_' Draco thought, peeved at the situation.

Just as he was about to give up, he saw a light switched on at one of the windows, and even before he saw her, he knew it was his mate. As he focused a bit more, he sensed her extreme fatigue. And it seemed that she had not eaten either.

Brushing off the urge to tear down those responsible for her current state, he transformed into a Veela again and flew over to her window. Once near enough, he simultaneously settled on the window ledge and transformed back to human.

He was disappointed when a room devoid of his mate greeted him. The sound of running water coming from behind a door, told him that she must be having a shower.

He got in the room silently and started taking a look around. The room was sparsely furnished. A small mouldy wardrobe stood in a corner of the room, next to which a rickety chair and a bed in the far end of the room. The small candle next to the chair, casted a very dim light in the room, thus favouring and enhancing shadowy corners and this suited Draco perfectly.

He hurriedly concealed himself in the shadows of the wardrobe when the bathroom door opened and a neat albeit tired looking girl came in. She looked like she could collapse any minute. Draco braced himself once more against the barrage of emotions and feelings he got. However, amongst all these feelings, Draco couldn't help himself from being struck with a single powerful realisation.... "She's beautiful..." he thought, amazed at the fact.

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Hermione strode back in her room after her shower, which left her barely rested. She still felt tired to the bone and just wanted to pass out on her bed right away. It didn't matter that she was not allowed to have dinner, she didn't even have the strength to eat. More to that whatever happened today, had left her emotionally and physically drained.

"I can't go on like this," she thought desperately. "I barely escaped again."

She sat down on the edge of the bed, completely lost in thought. She closed her eyes trying to calm down her throbbing head.

In the shadow of the wardrobe, Draco could feel her despair, her pain, her helplessness and her tiredness. It made his blood boil in fury. He needed to be nearer to his mate. 'But how do I do that without scaring her off?'

After a few seconds, he edged away from the shadows of the wardrobe and walked to the bed, careful not to make any noise whatsoever.. Once in front of her, he crouched down at her knees.

"Hermione....," he said softly to avoid scaring her.

Hermione's eyes flew open in shock when she heard someone call her. On seeing the man crouching in front of her, her primary reaction was to get up and run.

Draco had anticipated her reaction though. As she made to stand up, his hand shot instinctively towards her and grabbed her hand gently.

"No, please," he pleaded softly. "I don't want to hurt you."

Something in his voice made Hermione stop. She slowly sat back on the bed.

His eyes were glued to her, clearly keeping a sight out for any more attempts of running away on her part.

Hermione however stayed put and stared into the grey eyes that were staring right back at her.

"I..know you!" she said in a scared whisper. "You are Mr Nott's friend!"

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	6. Mr Nott's Friend

**Hey guys!!!!! Sorry for the long wait. I'm in the middle of exams right now and I haven't been able to spare some time for fanfiction these days. It will be like this till the end of May I guess. University exams is sooooo different from secondary school and I'm slowly losing my mind.. Ah well enough of me complaining. I wanted to publish this chapter before taking a long long break till the end of exams. Just to keep you guys going.. To answer PinkSlytherin's question whether Hermione is going to think that Draco may be like Theodore Nott...according to you?** **I think the answer is yes. After all, she does not really have aby other example than Theodore Nott himself to base herself on. **

**Hope you all enjoy this chapter..**

**Happy reading!**

**~SerzShaaz~  
**

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Draco slowly let go of her hand and nodded, "Yes, that's me."

"Lord Malfoy," Hermione said slowly, remembering the name Mr Nott had used during the introductions earlier.

"Please, call me Draco. I don't like all these formalities and titles," said Draco as he pulled up the rickety chair next to the bed, and sat down.

"What do you want?" she asked, the mistrust plainly evident in her voice.

Draco detected the mistrust in her voice and it angered him; not because she did not trust him but because his mate has obviously been though a lot of rough moments for her to find it hard to trust someone.

"I just want to help you," he said softly.

Hermione stared at him for a few seconds, trying to decide whether this man really wanted to really help her or whether this was just a big joke at her expense.

"Why would you want to help me?" she asked, confused. " I am a servant girl and you are a LORD!"

"So what? This doesn't mean anything to me, Hermione. I really want to help you," Draco said, trying to convince the obviously very intelligent girl in front of him.

Hermione stared at him in silence for a few seconds, trying to decide whether this man could be trusted or not.

"I still don't understand why you would want to help me?!" she refuted back after a few more seconds.

"Do I really need a reason to help you?" Draco asked, trying to stop her in her questioning fest. "Can't I just want to help you?"

"No one does anything without a reason in this world!" Hermione replied defiantly. "There's absolutely no reason for you to be different!"

"You are right...," Draco said after a while. "I do have my own motive behind but please believe me when I say that I mean you no harm,"

Hermione scoffed at his statement, "There is no way for me to be sure of that!"

Draco sighed. It was not as easy as he had thought it would be. Besides, no one had ever stood up to him like that before. Deciding to try one more time, he removed his wand and slowly handed it to her.

"Here, take my wand and keep it with you."

Hermione stared at him for a few more seconds before hesitantly taking the wand from him.

"Are you convinced now?" Draco asked once more.

Hermione nodded silently from where she was on the bed, still a bit confused. After all, this man was Mr Nott's friend. How come he was being nice to her? And what will come next after this act of kindness?

"How do you intend to help me?" she asked, trying to gain control over a situation which was slowly overwhelming her with its strangeness.

"I want to help you in every way I can," Draco said truthfully, taking her hand in his again. "I will do everything I can to help you."

Hermione removed her hand from his awkwardly and stood up. It made her uncomfortable that Lord Malfoy was being a bit more than friendly with her. She walked to the window and stared in the night. " No one can help me," she stated resignedly.

Draco was feeling her unease, that's why he had remained seated when she stood up to be away from him.

At her statement though, he got up and went to stand right up next to her. He shoved his hands in his pockets to restrain his need to hold her.

"Try me first, before saying I can't" he said confidently, staring at the girl who making his whole body and being crave for her.

After a while, she turned to look at him in the eyes. "And what would you exactly do to help me?"

"For a start, I could rid you of all that tiredness and help you get a good night's sleep."

She stared at him in shock, "How do you know about this?"

He shrugged and turned back to staring outside. " I have my ways. Besides, it is obvious by just looking at you that you are tired."

"And how do you know I have trouble falling asleep at night?" she asked again.

"I just told you...I have my ways," he said, shrugging again. "So, what do you think? Want to let me help you or not?"

"Al...alright then. Let's try." She replied hesitantly.

Draco grinned and strode to the bed, beckoning to her, to follow him. "Come over here."

She walked slowly to the bed. "What now?"

"Now, lie down on your bed and make yourself comfortable," he instructed, glad to be able to do something.

"You want me to lie down?!!" she asked untrustingly.

"Come on! I won't harm you. Just lie down please." Draco said pleadingly, trying to convince her. Her mistrust in him was annoying and yet he knew that he could not blame her.

This time, she did as told and soon she was lying comfortably on her side, waiting for Lord Malfoy....no, Draco....for Draco to do something.

She had turned her back to the wall, tucked her left hand under her head and her right hand, in front of her on the bed. She had also bent her knees slightly and to Draco. She looked beautiful like that.

"And now?" she asked, unsure of what Draco had in mind.

Draco shook himself mentally, he had been staring at the girl lying down on the bed and looking so damn great.

"Now, you just relax and do nothing. That's all," Draco replied distractedly, pulling his chair, to be the closest possible to the bed.

"That's all??," Hermione asked in disbelief. She had been expecting something else than 'relax and do nothing.' If that was it then, she didn't require Lord Malfoy's precious help. Apparently though, Lord Malfoy could read minds and had guessed Hermione's trail of thought.

"In fact, you won't do anything," he précised, still preoccupied by his chair. Once he got it in the desired position, he sat down and looked at her. "You just relax and whatever needs to be, I'll do it,"

"Okay," muttered Hermione, unsure of whether he could really help her or not.

"Give me your hand," he instructed, holding out his own.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, her hand still safely tucked at her side.

Her chuckled at her paranoid behaviour, even though it annoyed him to no end that she was still refusing to trust him completely. But he knew that to gain her trust, he would need to lighten the mood and help her relax.

"I will chop it off and make a delicious soup with it," he replied mockingly.

At his comment, she giggled, to his utter joy.

"I guess I'm being a bit paranoid," she said apologetically.

"Yeah," he agreed with another chuckle. "Just a little bit...Just give me your hand, I won't harm you."

This time, she extended her hand towards him and allowed to clasp it securely in his.

"Alright then, now close your eyes."

Hermione shook her head. "I'd rather keep my eyes open please."

Draco restrained himself from letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Ok, as you wish....Now, just let me do and whatever happens, remember that you are safe with me."

On seeing Hermione nod once more, Draco secured his hold on her hand and closed his eyes to concentrate.

He slowly tuned out his surroundings and focused on the feeling of her hand in his. H sought her out with his mind once more and suppressed a smile on feeling his mind link with hers; it moulded perfectly and completely with hers in a complementary fashion.

From then on, he called upon his veela powers and started enveloping her mind with his. On hearing a gasp of surprise escaping from Hermione, he opened his eyes and saw that she was a little scared. In his mind, he could feel her trying to pull back and break the link. She could feel him taking control of her whole mind, surrounding it completely with no way of escape and it scared her.

He covered the hand he was holding with his other hand and rubbed hers gently and slowly with his thumb.

"It's ok. Just relax and let go. I am not going to hurt, so relax please."

He could see her scared gaze and wanted to hold her close. But Hermione would definitely not like that and he could lose her trust for good.

He slowly intensified his powers, preventing her from rebelling against him and kept on talking to her to prevent her from panicking again.

After a while, his patience paid off and he felt her relent and let go slowly. She let him rock her mind gently and felt as if she was floating on air. A small smile graced her features and she tightened her grip on his.

" Feeling much better?" asked Draco, with a knowing smirk.

She just nodded slowly, clearly enjoying the feeling of total relaxation Draco was procuring her with.

"Good," Draco replied. "Just enjoy it and don't worry about anything at all."

After a few more minutes, Hermione started feeling drowsy and the feeling was more pronounced as the seconds ticked by. She tried hard to keep her eyes open.

"Don't fight it. Close your eyes, it would do you good." Draco said, having noticed her pointless fight.

Hermione, however, being a very very very....very stubborn girl by nature, did not heed Draco's advice.

He observed her fight some more, before placing one hand on her forehead; using his powers to stop her mind from fighting.

"I said don't fight it," with a reproaching hint to his voice. "Close your eyes and just let go.....let go, Hermione. Let go...relax."

Finally, she stopped fighting and her brown eyes fluttered closed. Within a few seconds, her breathing evened out and she fell into a deep restful slumber. Slowly, Draco let go of her mind and severed the link. He remained seated, her hand still in his, contemplating his sleeping mate.

"Father was right....you are indeed very special," Draco whispered to the sleeping girl. "My mate...my beautiful mate.."

He conjured a white rose with his wand that Hermione had left on the bed next to her. He placed the rose next to her head on the pillow and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"I'll be back very soon my mate."

He went to the window and with one last look at his mate, he transformed back into his Veela form and took off into the night.

**************


	7. Was It A Dream?

**Hello again guys...**

**first of all, very sorry for the long wait...or rather very very long wait. After exams, I got caught up in holiday plans with some friends and then the blasted writer's block got a death grip on me! However, I'm back now with this new chapter, which I hope will make you happy! Any questions that my lovely reviewers asked will unfortunately not be answered this time as I will wait for your response to this chapter first. **

**So, happy reading to all of you and I'm waiting for your reviews! **

**~Serzshaaz~**

Disclaimer: I want to obtain the rights of Harry Potter. Anyone can plead J.K Rowling on my behalf?

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**

Hermione woke up the next morning, feeling all weird. She knew by the fact that the sun had not risen yet, that she had woken up early. She stared up at the ceiling and thought about the dream she had..._was it a dream?  
_

It seemed so and yet it seemed very much real...if only she could remember some part of it which could give her a proof whether it was a dream or not.

'The wand! His wand!!!' she remembered with a start. She turned around to locate the wand but realised a few minutes later with dismay that it was nowhere to be found.

'_Of course...as if he would have left it even if this had not been a dream. Since this is a ridiculous stupid dream, there would be no wand..or maybe he was really here and took his wand away...maybe that...OH HERMIONE GET A GRIP ON YOURSELF, WILL YOU?!!! GET UP AND GET READY FOR WORK_!'

Angry with herself for indulging in silly dreams, she got up heatedly from her bed and caused her knee to hit the chair next to her bed very painfully.

'_Wait a minute...the chair? The chair is never found next to my bed! He was the one who moved it next the bed last night when he decided to help me sleep! Yes! This is my proof! And he said that he's coming back tonight!_'

Hermione sat back down on the bed and stared at the chair longingly, suddenly wishing it was night again. She wanted him to come back...Lord Malfoy...Lord Draco Malfoy, or like he asked her to call him...Draco. She reached over to touch the chair lightly..this is her solid proof. However, before she could allow her mind to wander to more wistful thoughts, a rapid knock pulled her out of her reverie. It was the matron, who woke up all the maids every morning by knocking like a mad woman on their doors. Hermione rushed up from the bed and started getting ready for another tiring day.

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Meanwhile, very far away from the Nott residence, Robert Lefage stepped deftly from the fireplace he had just flooed to. He had just grabbed the occasion to visit his son at Malfoy Manor while his beloved was busy in the rose gardens. He found himself in the main part of the library and looked around. It usually was the favourite place of Draco. However, the latter was nowhere to be found. He left the library and went to the next place he was sure to find Draco...his bedroom!

As he reached Draco's room, he knew that the latter was there..as the door was closed. He knocked on the oak door gently and was rewarded with a quiet 'Come on in.'

He gently eased the door open and stuck his head inside.

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Draco turned his head towards the door when he heard a soft knock. '_Probably a house elf._' The door slowly eased open and he saw his father's head poking inside.

"Oh father, it's you!"

"Yes, it's me. What are you up to? Robert asked, eyeing his son, perched on the window sill, gazing at the gardens surrounding Malfoy Manor.

Draco shrugged without looking at his father. "Nothing much, just thinking. And you father? What are you doing here? Are not you supposed to be spending some time with mother?"

Robert chuckled at his son's attempt at diversion. "Your mother is quite busy with the rose gardens, so I thought of coming to check on you for a while. After all, you never informed me of what happened last night. Did you go to meet your mate?"

Draco stayed silent for quite a long time, still staring outside. Then, he just muttered, "Yes, I met her."

"And?" Robert prompted. "What happened?"

"And, we talked," Draco replied cryptically.

"Son, I would appreciate if you could provide me with a little more details!" Robert said after it seemed obvious that his son was not going to provide the information he needed. When Draco stayed silent even then, Robert started getting worried as to what his son might have done as he knew quite well that the latter was very hasty and impetuous. "Draco?" he asked again, in a worried tone.

This seemed to shake Draco out of his thoughts. "Yes, father?"

"I would like to know what happened son."

Draco slowly slid down from the window sill and leaned against the wall next to the window, staring blankly ahead.

"Well...I went there and I easily located her room...," Draco said and slowly told his father in detail what happened as the latter settled himself comfortably on a nearby couch.

When his story was told, he looked up and saw his father smiling slightly. "Well, Draco, are you convinced now that this girl is your mate?"

Draco sighed and nodded silently. '_Yes, this girl is definitely the one for me and no one can ever take her place in my life now._'

"And have you decided what to do from now on?" Robert asked.

"I am going to go and meet her again tonight." Draco replied with a happy grin on his face.

"And, after that?" Robert asked. "What have you decided to do?"

"Well, she is coming to stay with us and I will make her my mate and my wife." Draco replied with conviction.

"Make sure to ask her what she wants first son." Robert advised wisely.

However, this very advice puzzled his son. "Ask her what?"

"Well, ask her if she does want to come and live with you. If she does want to leave the life she already has," Robert explained patiently. "You can really expect her to be at your beck and call Draco. She's your mate, yes but she is also a human being with feelings. So if you want things to start off well between you too, always think about what she feels."

Draco shoulders slumped in defeat. He had never thought of all this. In his mind, Hermione was his mate and would agree to anything he would ask of her.

"When you go to meet her tonight, explain things clearly to her. First of all, you should tell her that she is your mate. Then, explain your desire to bring her to live with you and along that all the small details. You would be surprised how many things she will ask about and the conditions she will lay down before accepting."

With that foreboding warning doubled with a not so helpful advice in Draco's opinion, Robert left to whisk his mate away for some quiet time from the rose gardens.

Draco stared off in space after his father left. '_Why does it always have to be that the most complicated path is the best one?'_ he wondered in exasperation as he decided to work out a way to explain things to his mate. _'And the best way for me to think clearly is when I'm swimming,'_ he concluded, making his way to his indoor pool.

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Meanwhile, things were not so good for Hermione. The day which she had started happily, when she was convinced that what happened last night was very true, slowly turned out to be a complete nightmare.

First of all, someone _('stupid matron' thought Hermione)_ forgot to tell Hermione that Mrs Nott wanted her breakfast in bed today and she had to bear the brunt of Mrs Nott's rage all morning. As a result, Hermione had been banned from meals for a whole week.

Then, Hermione had been assigned to clean all the windows of the lunch room. And all the windows meant all the 56 windows, each one 2m wide and 4m high, and with intricate gravings on the panes. It took her all morning and lunch time to clean them well. _'Lucky me, the family had lunch outside today,'_ thought Hermione.

And now, as Mrs Nott left for her monthly visit of several days to some relatives in France, Hermione was assigned exclusively to the service of Theodore Nott. She had managed fairly well lately, when his interest in her sharpened, by avoiding him at all cost. But now that she was assigned to his service, how on earth will she avoid him?

Presently, she was waiting patiently in the study for Mr Nott to come. She had been summoned urgently and had to leave all work and rush to the study. As she was starting to wonder when the master will come, the latter strode in quickly, grabbed something on the work table and motioned for Hermione to follow him.

Hermione rushed after him as he exited the room without a word. It was so unlike Mr Nott to ignore her, not that she liked the attention from him. The change only made her wary of what might come next. She followed silently, trying to keep up with the rapid stride of the young master. As they neared the lounge, Hermione allowed herself to relax a little. The lounge was safe territory as it was exposed, with no doors to close and isolate her with young mister Nott.

However, her warning bells flared up again as she watched the master grab some floo powder and throw it in the fireplace. The fire blazed and Mr Nott motioned for her to go through. Hermione stared at him in shock and did not move at all.

"Come on, Hermione. I need you to clean out the ballroom in our country house for the party I want to organise tomorrow." Theodore said impatiently. "In the floo, come on!"

He grabbed her arm when she remained stock still and motioned her towards the fireplace pushing her in it. Then, he followed her quickly, leaving in his wake a small cloud of soot.

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Hermione landed in a heap in front of the fireplace, coughing the life out of her. Trying to get her bearings back, she staggered up, only to tumble down again. Hearing the fireplace 'whoosh' again, signaling another arrival, she forced herself to stand up, pleased that her second attempt yielded better results.

As she stood up, she saw the young master dusting off soot from his clothes. She took a few steps away from him, just for good measure.

He straightened up and smiled at her. That very smile made Hermione instinctively take a few more steps away from him. Theodore took his wand, turned and waved it at the fireplace causing the fire to disappear.

"There," he said in a satisfied tone, as he turned back to her. " No one will disturb us now. Just you and me, my darling Hermione," he said with a feral smile.

Hermione felt her heart clench almost painfully as a deep fear gripped her whole being.

'_Oh my god, no!'  
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	8. All Alone With The Master

**Hi again! I know..after a long wait of nothingness..Serzshaaz gives out two updates right away??? What to say...my muse is feeling happy these days and is giving out the story readily without me having to plead on my knees!**

**This update is not exactly what you guys have been expecting and asking from me, having Draco swoop in and save his mate. I am very sorry but that's how it's supposed to be. As they say, there is always light at the end of the tunnel..this applies for our darling Hermione too, don't worry. She just needs to go through the tunnel first to get to the light, right?**

**Before you guys read on, I would like to thank the following reviewers for their best wishes and words of encouragement. **

_**Black wolfgirl2722, tfobmv18, gravity01 (specially for your enthusiastic review. I loved your response. Thanks!), vampiregurl, crazy-chik420, Nikki-4, HarryPGinnyW4eva, and everyone else who like this story.  
**_

_**It keeps me going, Thank you a lot! A special thanks to Desi-Pari Always...for taking the time to send me a message when you couldn't review. Thank you very much.**_

**On with chapter 8 then! Happy Reading!**

**And anyone talked to J.K Rowling for me??? I wish I could get Harry Potter all for me!**

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RECAP:

Hermione landed in a heap in front of the fireplace, coughing the life out of her. Trying to get her bearings back, she staggered up, only to tumble down again. Hearing the fireplace 'whoosh' again, signaling another arrival, she forced herself to stand up, pleased that her second attempt yielded better results.

As she stood up, she saw the young master dusting off soot from his clothes. She took a few steps away from him, just for good measure.

He straightened up and smiled at her. That very smile made Hermione instinctively take a few more steps away from him. Theodore took his wand, turned and waved it at the fireplace causing the fire to disappear.

"There," he said in a satisfied tone, as he turned back to her. " No one will disturb us now. Just you and me, my darling Hermione," he said with a feral smile.

Hermione felt her heart clench almost painfully as a deep fear gripped her whole being.

'_Oh my god, no!' _

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Despite having a very good idea of Theodore Nott's intention, Hermione tried to act oblivious, hoping to distract him while scrambling in her panicked mind for some solution of any kind to get her out of this new mess.

"Where is ballroom found, master Theodore?" she asked in a trembling voice.

Theodore chuckled. "The ballroom doesn't need to be cleaned up darling. This was just a pretense to get you to come with me. And now, I have you all for me. For as long as I wish."

Hermione's eyes widened as her fear got promoted to near panic. "But...the mistress will want me back...she..she needs my services," Hermione babbled, all the while backing away from him.

Theodore chuckled again. "My mother is here in France for at least a week my love. So, no work or obligations for you." He walked slowly towards Hermione, loving the effect he was having on her. "You are completely free, my beautiful maid. Besides, you have been assigned to my service...so now, lets get to the part of you serving, me my love."

Hermione's insides threatened to freeze over. _'Here in France??! How...we are in France?!!!'_

He extended his hand towards the cowering girl and tried to grab hold of her hand. Hermione screamed and dodged his hand. She backed more rapidly from him and started looking around for an escape.

"There is nowhere for you to escape my love." Theodore said with another chuckle. "Why would you want to escape anyway? I am offering you several days of complete bliss, fun and absolutely no chores. Come on, my darling. Let the fun start alright?"

He tried to catch her hand again but Hermione screamed, dodged once more and bolted straight for an open door. She found herself in a long corridor and could hear the young master follow her at a more sedate pace, still chuckling. She ran faster and found a door to her right.

Locked!

'_Blast!'_

She took up running again and fell upon locked doors all along the corridor. Finally, at the very end of the interminable corridor, she found an open door. She wrenched it open and rushed inside. She discovered herself in some kind of sitting room. There were several couches and a fireplace. A small table adorned the centre of the room. In a corner, was a small lamp and there was yet another door. Rushing to it, she found it to be locked.

Looking frantically for another way out, she could hear master Nott coming nearer.

'He knows I'm in here. He couldn't have missed me since we were both in the same damn corridor. I need to get out of here.'

She rushed to the back of one of the couches, where the lamp was situated. It was a small lamp, on a table. Just as she was about to duck behind the couch and hide, the door opened on a still chuckling Theodore Nott.

She froze as his sight stopped on her and a sadistic satisfaction took over his expression.

"Were you about to hide, my love?"

"Master Nott..please."

"Ah..my beautiful maid. My name is Theodore. You should get used to saying it as from now as you will be pleading me for more later on and I daresay you will require my name for that."

Hermione felt her heart beat harder against her chest and wondered if the young master in front of her could hear it. She tried not to succumb to the panic which was bubbling inside her. She wanted to scream but knew it wouldn't help. They were all alone, he had made sure of that.

He moved to get near her. She tried to move before he could reach her but she was trapped by the couch. She leaned as far as she could while trying to find a way out. However, he reached out and this time he managed to grab her hand. She screamed loudly and tried to tug her hand from his grasp. He pulled her roughly to him and put a finger on her lips, causing her scream to die out.

"Shh..its alright my love. Don't be scared, come on. I just want to make you feel good. That's all," he said with a sadistic smile.

Instead of making her feel better, he only succeeded in making her more frightened.

She struggled to be free of his grip but he wasn't going to let go of this girl anytime soon. Not when he finally managed to have her in his arms. He leaned forward, grabbed her chin and roughly started to kiss her.

Hermione's whole being was revolted at the feel of his lips on her. She tried to turn her head away from him but he held onto her chin. He tried to pull her closer to him but she pushed with her fists and her might on his chest, trying to put some distance between them. To end this nightmare.

'_It's not happening! No, it can't be!'_ she thought frantically, still trying to fight off the master.

In a fit of desperation, she reached behind, grabbed on his hair and yanked with all her might. Theodore yelled in pain and finally let go of her. In her rush to get away from his groping hands, Hermione swung her hand and slapped him hard on the face before scrambling over the couch.

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Theodore struggled to regain his senses.

'_The bitch slapped him. Him, Theodore Nott!'_

As he looked around, the maid was nowhere to be found. In a rage, he strode out of the sitting room and saw her at the other end of the corridor, slipping into the room they had come in when they flooed over.

He strode rapidly to the room and saw her near the fireplace, clearly trying to find a way out.

"Where do you think you are going, dolly?" ha asked in an angry tone.

Hermione didn't answer. Instead, she tried putting as much distance as possible between the master and her.

Theodore had no intention to give her the chance to run off this time. He reached over and grabbed her hand once more but kept her at a distance just in case, she might want to grab onto his hair or hurt him in any other way possible.

Hermione didn't have any intention of letting herself being manhandled though. She started screaming, despite knowing the futileness of the effort.

What Hermione didn't know, was that she was exasperating her master even more. He shifted both her hands and held them in his. He pulled her roughly and slapped her hard on the face.

"That's for slapping me earlier, bitch," he declared in a rage. He reached around and slapped her once more and this time she stopped screaming and started crying. "I wanted us to have a good time together. To have fun and enjoy each other. So many would like to be in your place you know."

He started walking, pulling her, dragging her reluctant form with him. _'I will have her, whether she wants it or not. No one says no to me and I'll make sure she understands this.'_

He reached a room and yanked the door open. He shoved her violently inside and she landed painfully against a table. She let out a pained cry and more tears made their way down her cheeks. He got in and closed the door behind him. She tried to get up and felt a sharp pain in her sides.

"Now, its time for me to have fun. You just had to cooperate...but no! You had to act all prissy and make things difficult," he said angrily while removing his shirt and moving towards her. As he reached over and tore open her blouse, she reached for the first thing she could find on the table. Turned out it was a candle holder. She whacked his hand hard and tried to back away from him as he reeled from the pain she had inflicted him. But, there was nowhere to go...the only exit was behind the livid man towering in front of her.

Theodore backed away a bit and held his hand where she had struck him. Damn, this woman was proving to be more of a hassle than pleasure. He was going to enjoy breaking her.

He reached over and slapped harder this time. She let go of the candle holder in shock. She could taste blood as it seeped in her mouth from her broken lip. She looked up just in time to see his hand coming towards her again. She didn't have time to avoid this one too. His hand struck her full force and sent her reeling to the floor. She collapsed like a rag doll on the floor and this caused the man towering over her to chuckle.

"Its your own fault my darling," he said in a calm voice. "Why did you to fight off?"

She didn't answer and tried yet again to get up and run. Her efforts were thrown down the drain though as a well aimed kick caught her in her ribs and caused her breath to abandon her in a litany of seconds.

She slumped to the floor once more but not for long. She felt Theodore taking a hold on her brown tresses and he pulled her to her feet before throwing her roughly on the bed behind. He threw his body on her and proceeded to tear every bit of clothing of hers to pieces.

Hermione's mind blacked out and she started hoping that she would faint. Anything so as not to feel what is awaiting her, in the arms of her captor. She was too hurting to move and she found herself wishing that he would get on with it and leave her be.

But no amount of wishing could have prepared her for the intense pain, revulsion, fear and disgust she felt as he started raping her. She tried to scream and fight him off as he violated her body. His only response was to enclose his fingers around her throat and restrict her supply of air. The pain was unbearable as he kept on tearing her body to pieces. After what seemed hours, Hermione felt darkness claiming on her consciousness and she welcomed it, rushed to it as the man above her continued to plunder her body.

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Hours had passed ever since Robert had left Draco to his own devices. After a long refreshing swim in the pool, Draco had decided that he would follow his father's advice and tell his mate everything tonight.

'_Hopefully, she will agree to come with me tonight itself.'_

As he got nearer to Nott Residence, Draco got a strange feeling.

'_I can't feel her! Is this normal?'_ he wondered worriedly. He was feeling kind of empty and disappointed, having expected to feel her in his mind as he would approach the residence.

When he got to her room, he found it empty once again like last night. Deciding to wait up for her inside, he entered the room and saw the chair where he had left it last night. _'She didn't move it,'_ he thought, pleased with it. He sat down on the very same chair and allowed himself to relax, taking in her scent from the room.

However, after nearly half an hour of waiting, he started feeling restless again. '_Where is she? She was already here at this time last night. And I'm not feeling her at all in this place. It's as if she vanished.'_

He stood up and started pacing around in the room. He tried to concentrate on locating her in the household. _'Nothing! Dammit! Where is she?'_

He considered getting out of the room and exploring the household himself so as to find her himself. But he knew that it was impossible for him to do that. It would create a ruckus among the personnel and he didn't want to alert Theodore to his presence in the house. Besides, he knew deep inside that she was not in the household because he could not feel her at all. Even if she had not been his mate, he should have been able to locate her with his Veela abilities.

Frustrated at his inability to do something, he gave a hard kick in the wardrobe and winced in the self inflicted pain. He sat down on the bed and tried to allow her scent to calm him down.

'_She'll be back soon. I'm sure of that. She's bound to come here for some rest,'_ he thought, trying to convince himself, to reassure himself with these words. Unfortunately, for the blond restless Veela, it didn't work at all.

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Several hours later, Draco gave up on waiting for his mate as dawn neared. He transformed in his Veela form and left Nott Residence with a gloomy feeling looming in his head, trying to tell him that something was very wrong.

Refusing to give in to that feeling, Draco shook his head roughly and cleared his mind, focusing on the journey back to Malfoy Manor.

What he didn't know, was that thousand of miles away, his beloved mate was being slowly destroyed by someone he considered as a friend.

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Theodore got up and looked down at the unconscious maid. He had enjoyed her immensely. 'And, I'll have her again later on,' he thought with a satisfied grin on his face as he put on his clothes. Summoning a house-elf, he ordered for her to be tied down in one of the cellars found on the lowest level.

"And, she is not to be fed at all!" he ordered to the trembling elf. Nodding vigorously to the master, the elf whisked away with the maid, to dispose of her as ordered.

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**That was Chapter 8 for you... Awaiting your reviews friends!  
**


	9. I Am Here Now

**Hello my dear readers...**

**this is chapter 9 for you. I am not sure how this chapter will be received though because I am not that happy with it but there you go anyway.**

**Before that, a round of heartful thanks to the following reviewers**

**_1BigRomantic, animefreak123456789, Nikki-4, Tamikolee, winter ice blue_, cat18, tfobmv18, ilovenat1995.**

**Thank you for your wishes and encouragements. It means a lot.**

**Also, some words for:**

**_Margaritama_ - you are my most faithful reader and reviewer, thank you.**

**_Desi-Pari Always_ - I loved your response..I laughed when I read it to be honest. I bet you could have yelled at Draco if you had him near you! Very enthusiastic..thanks! But he is a young Veela, so he still needs to learn many things about being a Veela.**

**_gravity01_ - once more I loved your response. You are the one who gives me more feedback and I positively adore it! And you are definitely right...as long as the end is good, everything is fine. Also, all the suppositions you detailed in your review are great! We'll see what my muse is up to. I'll also check out your stories soon. Have a great week. Cheers!**

**Well..happy reading to you all and I a awaiting your thoughts impatiently!**

**~Sershaaz~**

**...........................................................................................................................................................  
**

As Draco approached Malfoy Manor, his senses picked up a familiar presence. _'Father! Just when I need him..'_

As he landed in the yard, he rapidly changed into human form and strode up to the house. As he crossed the space between the front doors to the staircase, he heard someone call him to his right. Looking there, he found his father settled in the small living room, with a book in hand. Immediately, changing his course, he went towards the living room.

............................................................................................................................................................

Having felt Draco's turmoil ever since he had landed in the yard, Robert had known something was wrong. On seeing Draco coming in the house, he had called out to him and was relieved when the latter had not brushed him off to go lock himself in his room and brood.

Waiting for the house-elf to finish serving tea to his son, Robert continued to read his book.

As soon as the house-elf left, he left his book and asked the most obvious question, "What's wrong?"

Draco stared at him. "Why do you think that something is wrong?"

Robert chuckled at his thick son and took a sip from his cup of coffee. "Apart from the fact that your face is like an open book....Well, I'm head Veela in our family Draco and you are my heir and my son. My blood runs in your veins and I will always know when something is wrong with you. It is the same as when you feel what your mate feels and you know when something is wrong with her. The simple explanation is that we are bonded."

Draco didn't say anything in response. He just concentrated on drinking his tea.

"So, tell me what's going on?" prompted Robert once more.

Draco stared off for a few seconds, as if he was thinking before letting out a weary breath. The feeling of emptiness had not left him yet. "I didn't find my mate where she was supposed to be. She was not in her room when I went there. She didn't come in her room all night."

"Maybe her room changed," suggested Robert.

Draco shook his head, "No, her belongings were still there. Everything was where it had been before. Except my mate..."

"Perhaps she has been busy Draco. She is a maid after all. Her day is not a bed of roses. Maids have many things to do in a single day."

"No father, I didn't feel her presence in the entire household. She was not on the premises. I know this for sure. And...." he trailed off, his voice wavering as he frowned in thought.

"And..?" Robert asked.

"And, I can't shake off this feeling father," Draco confessed, looking up at his father. "I feel as if something very wrong happened without me being able to do anything about it. I feel as if Hermione has been wronged and is in danger but I can't get any precise idea on it. Its probably nothing and just paranoia on my part but I still can't shake it off."

"Most probably not, son," Robert said, this time frowning too. "What you call as feeling is in fact your instinct..your Veela instinct. Our instinct is extremely important to us and you should never brush it off as nothing important. They usually turn up to be the most important of all."

Draco's shoulders tensed up and his eyes widened in fear as the prospect of his mate hurt somewhere without him able to do anything about it.

Robert felt the spike of fear that coursed through Draco. "First of all, we should stay calm and think clearly. If we lose our cool, it won't help your mate."

"How about we go to see mother?" suggested Draco suddenly. "She always knows how to locate someone and we need to locate Hermione."

"Yes, that's a good idea. Go and change. I'll wait for you here. Be prepared to apparate though. We can't afford to fly till there. We'll apparate to the house and then fly up to the outhouse where she's relaxing today."

With a brisk nod, Draco got up and rushed upstairs to get ready. Robert settled back in his seat and resumed the lecture of his book while waiting for his son to come back down.

............................................................................................................................................................

Far away from the comfortable living room of Malfoy Manor, a little, bushy haired maid was coming back to herself. Groaning, Hermione tried to sit up straighter but realised that something was restraining her movements. Coaxing herself mentally to open her eyes, she discovered that her legs were maintained firmly to the ground by locks and chains.

'_And, judging by what I'm feeling right now, my hands are tied up too.'_

And she could confirm that thought on seeing her hands maintained firmly to the ground on each side of her by manacles; the same as those holding up her legs. The upper half of her body was leaning against the wall behind her and she realised how painful that half-reclined position was for her back.

'_Either I lean back against the wall in this god-awful position or else I sit up straight as a rod and don't lean at all,'_ she thought, debating which option was the best in her mind. Finally, a pain free position won her heart and she dragged her upper body till she was sitting up straight.

From then, she started taking in her surroundings slowly. She was trying to keep her thoughts at bay.

'_Do not think! Do not try to remember now, Hermione. It's not the time. Focus on getting out of here.'_

Keeping a good grip on these resolutions, she scanned her surroundings, not that she could see much. There was only a small streak of light from a skylight somewhere. The whole room was dark and she could hardly discern her own features in this darkness. What she knew was that she was in a cold, damp room with a stone floor.

'_Alright, now what about a way out of here?'_ she urged herself on, just not to allow her mind to wander off and think on past events. She knew exactly what would invade her mind and she feared that outcome only.

Twisting her body around, she tried to locate a door or a window or a trap _'...anything to get out of here.'_

As she turned around, she didn't know whether to take it as her good luck or bad luck.

'Ah well, I did want to find a door. I found one I guess,' she thought sarcastically, despite the fear that had started to slowly claw its way through her whole being. She stared as a door slowly opened, creaking on its hinges as it swung open.

Her heart full of trepidation, Hermione watched as a small stature of a person made its way towards her. _'Not a person...a house-elf.'_

As the house-elf came near her, Hermione sat up straighter and tried to get the creature's attention.

'Hello?' she beckoned gently. The house-elf's eyes snapped up to her but quickly averted its gaze as it bent down at her feet and started unlocking the first lock. Hermione didn't allow herself to be put off though.

"Hello there. I'm Hermione. What's your name?"

The house-elf's ears twitched but it studiously ignored her.

"Please..whatever your name is. I need to get out of here. I need to go away. Please, I am begging you. You don't have to tell me anything or to disobey to any order. Just show me a safe way out of here," she pleaded as loudly as she dared to, for fear of being heard by someone. "He's going to hurt me more if you don't help me. He will never know you are the one who helped me."

The house-elf didn't say a single word and set to unlock her hands. Within a few more seconds, she was free. Thinking to trick the elf, Hermione tried to shoot up to her feet but they were dead! Her feet refused to budge! Trying again yielded her the same results.

"Please, help me get out of here," she begged the elf again.

In response, the elf bent down and enclosed its tiny fingers around Hermione's arm. In a breath-taking instant, she found herself whisked away to a lavishly decorated room with a huge bed. She had no time to take in more of the decorations as her eyes zeroed on the man sitting primly on the edge of the bed, smiling at her.

He mutely gestured at her with his wand and she floated up to him, despite all her efforts to stop being air-borne. He let her settle down next to him and the house-elf left. Slowly, he snaked an arm around her shoulders and hugged close to him. Instinctively, she tried to pull away from him as her body started to shiver and her heartbeat started racing. She was slowly losing control on the tight rein she had maintained on her panic till now.

Theodore was the one who was making the rules and he intended to let this beautiful maid know the rules so that they can have more fun.

"No no no dolly...stay right here with me. We don't want anything hurtful to happen to you, right?"

A treacherous sob escaped Hermione as the barrier she had been using to keep her memories inside, crashed and last night's events came rushing back to her. A tear escaped her eyelid and made its way down her cheeks. Theodore noticed it and caught the tear with his finger.

"Oh doll..come on don't cry. Play by my rules and everything will go real fine. No need to worry. Just give me what I want and you will be ok. And you know what I want right?" he asked as he started trailing a hand on her thighs.

Hermione's body shivered as more tears rolled down. As he tried to lift her already badly torn clothes; a reminder of last night, she shoved him away from her instinctively and tried to get up. She didn't get very far though as a hand came out of nowhere and slapped her hard. Sending her sprawling to the floor. As she turned on her back, she saw him get up, a visible fury building up in him. As he reached down to grab her hands, she jerked her hand away and yelled, "NO! GO AWAY!"

This enraged Theodore more. "You dare say no to me?? To Theodore Nott? No one says no to Theodore Nott! NO ONE! UNDERSTAND?"

Hermione flinched as he started yelling and seconds later, the kicks started to rain down on her. She stopped taking into account what he was doing to her and she didn't keep count of the number of times he had hit her head on the floor before he started taking off his clothes and ripping off hers. As he took her once again, savagely ripping her, she felt a jolt in her soul, deep in her. Someone who truly cared about her was near...someone was near. Instantly, without any conscious effort from her, she felt a wave of hope wash over her and she tried once more to fight back as she found a new reserve of strength along with the hope. She pushed on Theodore with all her might, forcing him to leave her body. But, the strength was not enough.

'_I need more strength,'_ she thought desperately, as she felt unbearable pain rip through her body once more. Just as the thought came to her, a closed fist came towards her and Hermione, on noticing it, was quietly relieved as she knew this punch will make her leave consciousness. And, gratefully, it did..

............................................................................................................................................................

Up in the French skies, flying alongside his father, Draco's mind was in a turmoil, sending pangs of guilt coursing through his whole body.

'_I should have realised something is wrong with her...Why didn't I act on my feeling? What if something really bad happened and I'm too late?'_

Just as he was about to start berating himself again, he felt a sharp pain rip his insides, building up in intensity as the seconds ticked by. Draco's breath stole away and he nearly dropped out. He caught himself in time and gritted his teeth against the pain.

'_What's going on?' _he wondered.

Right next to him, he noticed his father looking at him with a frown. _'He knows I'm in pain.'_

Then, he felt a stab of desperation coursing his veins and then nothing. This time, Draco frowned too as the pain and the desperate feeling vanished without any warning. Robert was still puzzled at his son. _'One minute, he was clearly in pain and incredibly sad and now, nothing! This is not normal. We need to get to Narcissa quick. She knows Draco more than me.'_

Several minutes later, they were both landing in the yard of the lavish outhouse Narcissa had recently acquired. Robert sensed Narcissa rushing outside to meet them. And true enough, a few seconds, an exuberant Narcissa burst through the doors and ran towards them. She was a far cry from the posh sophisticated look she showed to the whole world. With them, she resembled an enthusiastic young woman who enjoys life to the maximum.

However, as she approached them, her steps slowed down and her wide grin along with her happy look gave way to a deep frown and a puzzled look.

'_Great! She knows something is wrong. No wonder she picked up the tension,'_ thought Robert dejectedly. _'The tension radiating from Draco alone is thick in the air!'_

Before she could say anything, Robert forced out a smile and countered any comments she might have fired out. "Ah, hello my love. How about we all go to the living room?" he proposed.

Grabbing his wife's hand and sending her a pointed look that said _'Play along with me, please,'_ he gestured to a grim looking Draco to follow them inside.

Once well settled in the living room, Robert turned to his wife.

"My love, Draco and I haven't been exactly truthful to you. We need to talk to you about something very important. Something concerning Draco...."

Narcissa smiled shrewdly at her lover and interrupted him, "Is it about Draco's mate?"

Robert stared at his mate in shock and judging by the number of times he opened and closed his mouth, Draco was perfectly impersonating a goldfish.

Narcissa chuckled ruefully at the two most important men in her life. "Robert, he's my son. All his life, he's spent it with me. And I am the matriarch here in a way. So, I will know when a new female is about to enter our household. Don't forget the Ancient Ties that exist in Veela bloodlines, my love."

Robert smacked himself mentally on the head. How could he have forgotten the Ancient Ties?

"Ancient Ties? What's that?" asked a curious Draco.

"I'll explain later," replied Narcissa, still smiling. "For now, tell me everything about this girl. Come on!"

"Love, there is something else," Robert said gravely.

Narcissa's smile evaporated into thin air as the tension from her son and her lover percolated in her soul. "What is it?" she asked in a slightly shaking voice. She had never learnt to deal with tension.

"We have reason to believe that Draco's mate has been taken away. That's she is in danger,"

Robert said in a grave tone. "Draco went to meet her last night and she was not at the meeting place. He could not locate her at all in the house where she lives and this is very unusual."

Narcissa tried to downplay it all by waving airily and saying, "Oh come on. You two scared me for a minute! She is a young woman and women often have late nights out. I am sure she must be fine!"

"No, love," Robert contradicted immediately. "Draco's instincts are telling him that she is in danger. His veela instincts cannot be wrong and you know that honey. Remember the time when my instincts told me you were in danger?"

Narcissa blanched visibly. Oh, yes she remembers. She'll never forget that period. That night, Lucius had been drunk, extremely drunk and had wanted Narcissa to give him the carnal satisfaction he wanted. She had refused politely, but her husband had not taken her refusal very well. He ended up nearly beating the life out of her.....literally. If it had not been for Robert's intervention, she would have died that night.

"It was my instincts which warned me about you being in danger that night, my love." Robert pressed on urgently, "We cannot wave off Draco's instincts concerning his mate."

"Yes, you are right," admitted Narcissa with a pensive look.

"Mother," Draco intervened for the first time ever since the conversation started. "We need you to locate Hermione. Please."

"That's what her name is?" asked Narcissa with a clear interest.

As Draco nodded his assent, Robert remembered something. "Son, what happened up there when we were flying here?"

Draco look startled at being asked this question. He had thought that his father had forgotten about that already. "I...erm..I don't know how to explain it," he stuttered as the way he had felt came back to him.

His mother frowned at him. "Did you feel something Draco?"

Draco once again look baffled at his parents' uncanny ability to point out exactly what was wrong with him. "Well...yes, as a matter of fact, I did. At first, it was a deep sharp pain, as if my soul and my self preservation failed me. That I had failed at protecting myself. It was a physical pain mingled with emotional pain. Then, after that, it was a desperate feeling. I felt as if there was no hope ahead for me. But, then after a few seconds, it was gone. I felt as if am falling in a void of nothingness. Then, absolutely nothing."

"They were not your own feelings?" asked Narcissa unnecessarily.

"No, mother. They were not mine," Draco objected. "They felt as belonging to someone else. Someone close to me though. It was the same way like when I first..." he trailed off and his eyes widened as realisation hit him.

"When you first what Draco?" Narcissa pressed on as her lover observed their son closely. He had seen that expression before.

"Like when you first met Hermione at Nott's place?" Robert asked Draco quietly.

Draco looked up at him with a vulnerable look and nodded weakly at his question. "Father, this means Hermione was nearby!" he exclaimed a few seconds later.

"He is right." Narcissa conceded. "They haven't properly bonded yet, so for him to feel her like that, she must have been close."

"But how will we know where?" wondered Draco. "I was not paying attention to where we were at that time."

"I wasn't paying attention either," said Robert apologetically when Draco turned to him, clearly in the hopes that he will know.

"You said that you met her at the Nott's for the first time?" asked Narcissa curiously.

Draco nodded glumly. He was beginning to think that all this will lead him nowhere.

"Maybe this won't have any connection at all to the problem at hand," said Narcissa pensively, "but the Nott's have a house nearby. A small mansion you could say, that they rarely use. Theodore's mother told me that Theodore is the one who uses it the most."

Draco bolted from his seat and rushed to grab his mother's hands, startling her in the process. "Where is that mansion mother? Hermione is there, I am sure of that!"

"Draco, calm down!" Narcissa said, shocked at his behaviour. "Why would she be there?"

Robert rose from his seat. Taking Draco by his shoulders, he made him sit back on the couch. "Your mother is right. You should keep your calm, son. However," he said, resuming his seat too, "Draco is right too. Hermione must be there. She works for the Notts and Theodore must have tricked her into following him there."

"But why?" demanded Narcissa.

Draco scowled and said nothing but the anger that roiled off him was palpable.

"Because Hermione has been at the end of rather unwanted and unpleasant attention from Theodore Nott lately," Robert explained.

Narcissa nodded in comprehension. They all knew how Theodore Nott was with women. "Then, we should try and get your mate out of this web of mess very quickly Draco," she concluded, before getting up from her chair, making the two men follow suit automatically. "Come on, we are going on a rescue mission right now."

Draco and Robert followed her obediently as they knew that now that Narcissa Malfoy had gotten her claws into this tricky situation, she will see to it that everything is set right very soon.

............................................................................................................................................................

Hermione awoke once more, feeling completely out of the loop.

'_Don't open your eyes!'_ she urged herself. _'Things might get a little better if I pretend to be still asleep.'_

She felt her memory trigger knocking on her mind urgently, asking to be acknowledged, asking to be allowed to deliver the recent events her brain had collected. However, Hermione had no desire to give in to her memory. She doesn't want to remember anything at all, knowing deep inside her that it will scar her more than she could handle.

But, things were not to be done to her taste...not when you are just a simple maid and have other people to command you around.

She felt a finger tip on her bare skin...trailing slowly along her shoulder blade. She resisted an urge to shudder in disgust and fright. She forced herself to maintain her eyes closed and her breathing even.

A low deep chuckle resonated next to her and she could feel someone's chest moving next to her as the person....as Theodore chuckled. He quickly shifted his body so that he was on top of her, trapping her body in his arms. Still Hermione tried to stay completely still and pretend to be asleep.

"I know you are awake dolly," Theodore said with another chuckle. He bent down to roughly claim her lips again. Her eyes opened of their own accord and she tried in vain to move her face away from his. When she felt his body try to move her legs apart, she kicked him hard in the face with the heel of her hand.

"OW!! Dammit!" roared Theodore. "You are going to pay for this. It seems I didn't punish you enough earlier!"

He sat up and slapped her hard across the face, drawing blood from her already swollen and bruised lips. Pulling her out of the bed by her hair, he slung on the floor and grabbed his belt and started whipping her bare body.

Not being able to withstand the pain inflicted on her already battered body, Hermione started to beg.

"Master please..no please. Am sorry. Am so sorry. I won't do it again. Please..."

Theodore was not moved at all and continued trashing her. After a few minutes, he bent down and forced her to stand up by pulling on her hair. He lifted his free arm and started to pick up speed to slap her once again but a small 'pop' alerted him to the arrival of a house-elf.

"Master..." a timid voice prompted.

"WHAT??!!!" roared Theodore, rounding up on the house-elf and dragging a begging and sobbing Hermione by her hair.

"Lady Malfoy and Lord Lefage are here to meet up with you master," the house-elf said quickly.

This caught Theodore in shock and he let go of Hermione and she slumped back on the floor, empty of any kind of strength.

Theodore let out an expletive and thundered from the room, much to the relief of the naked girl on the floor. The house-elf vanished away rapidly.

Hermione started to cry on thinking about the horrendous turn her life took. She had always known that master Theodore was dangerous. He turned out to be even more than she had imagined. Too weak to get up, she rolled on her sides and hugged herself gingerly, wincing as her hands brushed several open welts and bruises. Her cries intensified with the pain as she tried to make herself feel a bit comfortable on the floor.

Several minutes went by as she slowly calmed down a bit, her sobs decreasing in intensity but never stopping. The door opened again, with it her anguish tripled in force and her panicked state returned. She tried to move, to get away from the master strolling back in. She could not think, she just knew she had to get away from him.

But she was unable to move. Her sobs picked up again in full force and she was willing to beg again if it meant no more punishments. She was even willing to do anything he wanted her to do.

The master came near her without a word, very slowly, as if he was hesitating in his steps. His dark shoes contrasted with the pale coloured rug and she shuddered at the damage that could be done to her body with these shoes. Seeing him beginning to crouch, Hermione cried even more and closed her eyes tight, resigned to her fate. She rapidly shielded her face with her arms, in view of the blows that she will receive again without a doubt.

............................................................................................................................................................

As he saw Theodore exit from a room in a complete rage, Draco knew that his mate was there. He resisted the urge to attack Theodore and main him grievously because he could feel his mate and the terrible state she was in. as soon as he deemed it safe, he got in the room quietly, making sure not to be located by anyone. It had a piece of cake to introduce himself in the mansion but he didn't want to take any risks of being discovered. When he closed the door, his instincts were instantly assaulted by his mate. Despite being afraid of what he would discover, Draco turned and looked around.

He immediately saw her...his mate..lying there on the floor. Naked and covered with wounds and bruises. A murderous urge took his control and he nearly ripped the door open to charge the house and destroy Theodore Nott. But heightened sobs coming from his mate distracted him and he realised that his mate had to be taken care of right now. Approaching her slowly, unsure what to do exactly, he crouched at her sides. His heart clenched as her arms automatically came up to shield her beautiful face in a defensive posture.

He stretched his hand towards her and carefully touched the arm shielding her face.

Her reaction was instantaneous. Her shrieks were heart wrenching and her sobs increased yet again. She tried to move away from him but clearly couldn't due to pain.

Draco slid down to his knees and held her arms to avoid her hurting herself. He was not sure she should be moving at all with all these wounds.

"Shhh..Hermione its me, Draco. Its over now..I am not going to hurt you, promise," he said, trying to reassure her.

Hermione couldn't register his words though. Fright blinded her other senses and she was slowly edging towards a panic attack. Draco had seen his mother go through these episodes and knew they were not nice at all. His father had once told him when he had successfully calmed his lover down, that the best solution was to overpower their efforts to run and then maintain them attached to reality by talking to them.

Despite her panic and her incoherent begging, he grabbed both her arms and trapped her in his, hugging her close to his chest. He started talking to her calmly and gently while using his Veela connection with her to clam her down. Once more, he allowed their minds to connect and started overpowering her panicked mind, slowly reigning it in and allowing it calm down slowly.

"Shhh...its ok now my mate. You are safe, I swear. Calm down for me. Stay calm. You are going to be fine now. I am taking you away from here, I promise. I won't leave you alone ever again."

After a few minutes, she started calming down, mostly because she had no more strength to fight and was giving up.

"There..you are doing just fine my love. That's it, calm down for me. Everything will be alright now," he crooned in her ear gently, helping her relax. Intensifying his powers, he slowly urged her mind to lapse into sleep, a relaxed one this time. "Let yourself go my mate..you are safe now. Sleep a bit..rest. I won't let anyone hurt you from now on. Shhh...."

Slowly, Hermione's eyelids drooped and she gave in to the induced slumber Draco put her in. He gathered her slowly in his arms, pained at the state she was in. Summoning a sheet from the bed spread, he covered her with it and wrapped his cloak too around her frail form. Once done, he cupped his hand around her face and tucked it against his chest protectively and apparated away with her.

............................................................................................................................................................

At the entrance, Narcissa and Robert bid Theodore goodbye as they felt Draco leaving; Narcissa apologizing for interrupting whatever Theodore might have been doing.

"I thought your mother would be here," she said apologetically. "Give her my regards if you meet her."

With a small nod, Robert took Narcissa's hand and they apparated away to Lefage Estate, where they had all agreed to meet with Draco and his mate.

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	10. Safe At LeFage Estate

**Well…erm…hello everyone. I know it has been ages since I last updated!!!! I have been extremely extremely busy! Second year at university is far from being a bed of roses! And to top it all, I have been planning my engagement so no time at all. But, you might all thank my boyfriend! He is the one who urged me to go back to the story…well he wants to know what happens next too! Before you go to the chapter, a few words to my awesome reviewers!**

**First of all, huge thanks for all your encouraging words and wishes. I deeply appreciate them. So thank you to **_**vampirelover2009, chibi-dono15, Mrs Ali, cafana989, crimsonprincess99, TheresNothingInside, Tamikolee, Nikki-4, SasuxSakufan, Syigin96, sweet-tang-honney, MrsEdwardCullen13, sabotageme (keep reviewing!), phelix, tfobmv18, pstibbons (I love your ideas!), Avanell, Cat18, loveismagic, Ladiee101, AnimeFreak123456789, Kat12, Mrs. Eric Northman 2012, PinkSlytherin, vampiregurl.**_

**Special words for:**

**My faithful reader **_**Margaritama**__** - **_**I loved your response. Thank you for keeping up with my story. Your input is valuable and helps in keeping my muse at work!**

**My funny reader **_**Desi-Pari Always**__** – **_**I look forward to your response each time! You always succeed in making me laugh! My boyfriend also enjoys your enthusiasm a lot and he shares it too, to be truthful. He loves the 'stupid poopie-head' term you associated with poor Draco. I like draco kent and hermione lane! I await your response for this chappie!**

**My faitful and enthusiastic reader **_**gravity01**_** – I have read your review several times to be honest. Each time, I get new inspiration when I read what you wrote. I absolutely adore your input and all the feedback you give me! The ideas just start dancing along with my muse when I read your reviews! And my boyfriend laughs at me when I say this…but this is true! Keep reviewing...I look forward to your next review!**

**Now then, here you go Chapter 10 for you. I know its way shorter, but I'll try to make it up in the coming chapters! Promise! I am not that happy with it…but there you go anyway. I hope you like it. Review soon! Am waiting!**

**Happy reading**

**SerzShaaz**

* * *

Hermione felt consciousness call out to her gently. The previous times she had given in to that call, she had regretted it bitterly. Refusing to wake up, Hermione tried to force her mind to drift back into unconsciousness.

Draco was sitting in the library but inside he was restless. Nothing appealed to him, not even his favourite book. His mother had managed to chase him away from his bedroom where Hermione was resting.

Narcissa, with the help of Robert, had managed to heal Hermione. Luckily, Hermione didn't have any life threatening wounds and the most serious wound is the emotional one. When Narcissa explained to him sadly that Theodore had raped Hermione, Draco had gone into a severe state of denial which gradually shifted into rage directed towards Theodore. The bursts of energy that had escaped from him had made a deep gouge in the floor and most of the artificial flowers Narcissa had kept in the hallway had to be thrown away in the form of ashes.

Draco looked up on hearing Robert and Narcissa approach the library from afar. He steeled himself to hear once again that he was not allowed to go up and check on her. Just as they were about to open the door, he felt his mate wake up. He could feel her as she drifted into consciousness. Flying out of his seat, he rushed out of the door, narrowly avoiding his parents. They stood there, shocked and stared after Draco. As they wondered what was going on, Narcissa gasped.

"Robert, she is waking up. I can hardly feel her but Draco obviously did feel her waking up. Come on, let's go. In his haste, he might frighten her," she said rushing towards the room, pulling her confused mate along.

As they neared the room though, Robert stilled his mate with his hands.

"Let us see what he does, love." he whispered to her. "I know that I don't have a stupid fool for son who doesn't take others' feelings into account. Let us wait and see."

Narcissa was not so happy with that but she decided to give up this time.

* * *

Draco rushed to the room but slowed down when he got near so as not to frighten her. He opened the door gently and crept in. Hermione was still asleep it seemed. But he knew that she was not...in fact she was at that point when one realises he is awake and has to open his eyes.

'_She is refusing to wake up!'_ realised Draco with shock as he felt her battle with her consciousness.

He went to sit on the edge of the bed next to her, and slowly touched her elbow nearest to him.

"Hermione...you can wake up now. You are safe," he said gently, encouraging her to open her eyes. "Come on, open your eyes slowly. You are safe. No one will hurt you here."

She turned her head away from his voice and held her eyes tightly shut and he knew she was unconsciously doing this.

He leaned closer to her and caressed her hair gently. "No no no....it's ok my love. Relax...you are safe here. You can open your eyes now, I promise."

After a few more seconds, her eyes started fluttered open and they immediately narrowed due to the bright light of the room. Noticing that, Draco waved his wand and caused the curtains to shut, dimming the light inside.

This time, she opened her eyes completely, banishing all remnants of sleepiness and they widened in fright as she took in her surroundings.

She sat up abruptly and looked frantically around her. Draco placed a reassuring hand on her shoulders and tried to talk to her. But, as soon as she felt his hand on her, she froze completely and looked at him in fright

Understanding her reaction, Draco removed his hands slowly and put some distance between Hermione and him.

"Hermione, I promise that you are safe," he told her slowly. "No one will hurt you here. No one at all."

She stared at him, unsure how to react with someone talking to her instead of yelling.

After a few seconds, she decided to muster her courage and try to know more of the new mess she was in.

"Where am I?" she asked quietly.

Draco smiled on hearing her voice. "You are at my father's house, Lefage Estate. This is my bedroom."

She inched slightly from him and looked around. It was an exquisitely decorated room.

'_Just like the other one,'_ she thought scarily, trying to squash the wave of memories which threatened to overwhelm her once more. Her eyes brimmed and a lone tear escaped from their confines and rolled down her cheek.

Draco's heart clenched painfully once more as he saw her tear and felt her anguish and her fear. It was extremely hard for him to withstand that much emotion coming from her. Luckily for him, he obtained a distraction when Narcissa came into the room followed by Robert.

"Ah you are awake!" Narcissa exclaimed happily. "Good then, Draco here will be able to stop turning us stir crazy with his whining and complaining that he wants to see you awake and well."

"Mother!" Draco growled under his breath, annoyed.

"Yes, what is it?" Narcissa, a bit too innocently to be believed genuine.

Just as Draco was about to retort back, they heard Hermione ask something quietly, so quietly that they didn't understand what she said.

"What did you say Hermione?" Draco asked gently.

Hermione cleared her throat slightly and asked again, "Why am I here?"

Draco looked aback slightly. _Why was she here???_

"I took you from Nott's country house," Draco explained after a while. "I got to know that you were there with him and I had a bad feeling about this. So I visited and I took you away when I saw what he was doing."

Hermione's face paled visibly and she looked at her hands, clearly ashamed and mortified at what she learnt. _Draco saw me in this state_…'_No Lord Malfoy saw me like that! Lord Malfoy!_' she thought, waves of nausea starting to course through her weak frame, panic threatening to overcome her senses as the recent events flooded her memory.

Draco could feel her anguish and knew instinctively what was distressing his mate this much. He brought a finger under her chin and brought her face up to look at him in the eyes.

"Hermione, you don't have to be ashamed of anything. **It. Is. Not. Your. Fault.** Remember this always ok? The only one at fault is Theodore. And I will make him pay one day. I promise you."

Hermione didn't reply. She just stared at the young lord. Narcissa intervened then.

"How about something to eat Hermione?" she asked with some forced cheer. Atleast, she got the result she expected. Hermione turned to her and the gloomy atmosphere dissipated. Hermione looked at the graceful woman fearfully. These people only reminded her of the Notts.

"Hermione," intervened Draco, indicating his mother, "This is my mother, Narcissa Malfoy. And this is Robert LeFage, my mother's ma…erm...companion."

Narcissa looked surreptitiously at her son. Draco just shook his head imperceptibly, making sure Hermione didn't notice. At the same moment, a house elf wheezed in with a tray laden with delicious food. It was singing loudly and tap dancing while juggling the tray in its hands.

Hermione stared at the house elf in wonder. "A dancing house-elf?" she wondered out loud. Then, on realising she had spoken out loud, she clapped her hands to her mouth and stared at Draco, Narcissa and Robert in fright. Robert laughed good humouredly. "This is a Shneezy, our tap-dancing house-elf. He loves music and dancing and is always in a good mood"

Shneezy bowed low to Hermione and then proceeded to serve her. Not used to being on the other side of the service, Hermione just sat stock still and didn't budge an inch even though the smell of delicious food were enticing.

Knowing his mate, Draco just started serving her and urged her to eat, with Narcissa starting to ramble off plans to buy Hermione dresses and makeovers, shoes, accessories and what not. Draco shared a pained look with his father. _'This means shopping with mother!!!'_ Draco thought desperately. They were doomed!

* * *

However, all the while that Hermione was getting acquainted with her new environment and slowly starting to trust Lord Malfoy and his family, a certain Theodore Nott was raising hell in his country house.

"WHERE IS SHE???!!!" he yelled again, storming through the whole house, confident that she cannot escape the house. She didn't know how to apparate and no one have ever taught the servants in his household to use their magic potential.

A house-elf apparated near him and cleared its throat timidly to make its presence known. Theodore rounded on it with rage, "WHAT IS IT???!! YOU FOUND HER?"

The house-elf shrinked in fright and answered in a trembling voice, "No master…Belby tisn't finding young servant miss. Belby searched house in whole, master. Young servant miss tisn't in house."

"THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE?!" Theodore roared in rage.

He grabbed the house-elf and flung it across the room. "GO FIND HER!!! GO BACK TO THE RESIDENCE AND LOOK FOR HER! SHE MUST HAVE FOUND A WAY TO GET BACK THERE!!!"

Belby didn't wait any further and disappeared to the mansion. Theodore thrashed the remnants of the room, following suit with breaking a chair into pieces, closely followed by several portraits.

'_I want her and I will get her back. She will pay dearly for this…she will pay dearly!!'_ He thought in rage as he continued to vent his anger on the furniture of the house.


	11. Hot Tea and Shopping

**Hi friends….I know, once again I made you guys wait a long long long time before updating! In my defense, university life is soooo not easy peasy. I am in last year and working on my thesis. And you have add that to the fact I am engaged to the most wonderful guy ever with whom I spend nearly all my free seconds. He says he likes my story but he likes me better. As a girl, I can hardly complain! Since, right now I'm in a small period of holidays which started yesterday to be precise and will be over on the 3****rd**** of January 2011, I decided to post another chapter before someone like Margaritama or Desi-Pari Always decide it is time to chain me to my computer and make me write up the story using force. I suspect Desi-Pari Always will get to it first! **

**Before moving on to the story; huge thanks to **_**razzledazzleraraz, Creator of Luv, padoryia, innocent as far as you know, martshi3, crazy-chik420, ElliotsLover-DracosWife, Nikki-4, ebm56, Cafana989 (your computer screen must never feel lonely with hugs like yours!), ilovenat995, Seeker Zenn, sweet-tang-honney, Avanell, vampiregurl, and JenJen10143 (thank you very much for your review. Boosts up my good feeling about this story).**_

**Special words to:**

**The enthusiastic Desi-Pari Always: You can't steal my Shneezy! Nor my Belby…but you can keep them safe from Theo or as you say, psycho, for now…(joking) N yea, he is no longer my boyfriend, he is my beloved fiancé! I like your tush in the air idea! Wonder if the person concerned will like it…what you think? I'm waiting for your response impatiently! And my muse says thanks to you!"**

**The Analytical and Wonderful Margaritama: I love your responses…gives me the opportunity to view my work from someone else's unbiased point of view. For magic learning, well…we'll see along the story, how my muse decides it should unfurl. As for the language, I wanted to show some of the characters in a different light…not their typical cold and aloof behaviours. I wanted to show that they can be gentle and kind when faced with the misery of someone important to them. Well…in my story they are like that. And you are right about one thing…my fiancé is quite a distraction! But he says my story is the distraction…Lol. Hope you like this chapter.**

**Finally to the cheerful vampirelover2009: Thank you very much and I am happy you like Draco's hidden nature. No one can blame anyone for wanting someone but the manner of 'acquiring the person' is important! Let me know how you found this chappie. **

**Well then, on with the story and happy reading! And sadly, I still haven't managed to take possession of Harry Potter. J. still won't give it to me!**

**Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2011 to you all….**

**Serzshaaz**

…**...**

The next morning, Hermione was awoken by the sun rays streaming through the curtains. For a while, she just remained there in bed, reflecting on the turn her life had just taken. She was away from the Nott's…finally. She could not help wondering in fear if the Malfoys might turn out to be just like her previous owners. She sighed worriedly at that thought…other people do say that the Nott's servants are paid servants but in reality they were all slaves there. That was what Hermione was convinced of. They were paid 5 galleons every two months as apparently their food requirements and lodging were already taken care of and deducted from those very 5 galleons. The remaining was what they received and that was usually next to nothing.

She was interrupted in her musings by the singing elf that whizzed inside, tap-dancing. Narcissa Malfoy was right behind the house-elf and opened up the curtains with her wand.

Shneezy deposited the tray it was carrying on the bedside table. Hermione did not know how to react.

"Good morning child. How are you this morning?" Narcissa asked, smiling.

Hermione just stared at her, unsure what to say. All this was alien behavior for her; no one talked like this ever to her…. _'Except for Lord Malfoy on that night'_ she thought hopefully. At the same moment, as if he heard her thoughts, the young Lord Malfoy appeared through the door and smiled upon seeing his mother and his mate together.

"Good morning mother," he greeted, walking towards them. Narcissa stared at her son quizzically…Draco has never been so _casual_ since childhood. He was the perfect impersonation of moody every morning ever since he was born.

"Are you doing well Draco?" she asked curiously.

"Yes mother, I am," he answered. "By the way, father was asking for you in the dining room. He needs to talk with you regarding our trip to the shops later on."

"Very well then," Narcissa said, standing up from the edge of the bed where she had been sitting. "You make sure that your _friend_ here eats."

As Narcissa strode off to go and meet her mate, Draco conjured up a chair and sat down near the bed and poured a cup of tea for the bewildered girl in his bed. All the while, she stared at the wand Lord Malfoy left on the bedside table.

Draco handed Hermione the cup of tea but the latter's eyes were glued to the wand.

"It's completely harmless you know?" Draco said with a light chuckle.

"Huh?" Hermione responded, startled by Draco's voice. She looked at him, unsure what to make of everything happening to her. The wand was supposed to be completely harmless but she had witnessed otherwise a number of times and often at her own detriment.

"Here, drink your tea," Draco said, handing her the cup again. "It will not do for you to go shopping without a proper breakfast. The sheer number of shops we will have to visit will be enough to make you dizzy."

Hermione took the cup silently and sipped on the hot tea, still quite hesitant in her movements; keeping an eye out for anything which might break up this seemingly safe hallucination.

Draco poured himself another cup and started buttering up some toasts. "You know, since we will be going shopping today, I believe it will be a very good occasion for both of us to get to know each other better. So, I was thinking that we could have lunch just you and me. It will be perfect for you and me to have some time alone away from my parents. What do you say Hermione?"

When Draco looked up at her for an answer, he saw her still entranced with his wand, fear quite evident on her face. _'Last time, she was not afraid of my wand. What did that bastard Theodore do to her?'_

"Hermione?" he asked gently, touching her shoulder to gain her attention.

Draco achieved what he had aimed for, just not in the magnitude he had expected. He did get the attention of Hermione but she was terrified. Upon Draco's touch, she shrieked and jerked away from his hand. As a result, the cup of hot tea was flung away and some of it fell on her. When trying to put some distance between her and the hand that touched her, Hermione fell to the floor and she started screaming; scratching and tearing at her clothes where the hot tea was burning her already sensitive skin from the trashing she got from Theodore Nott.

Draco bit back a curse word and abandoned his tea on the tray and knelt at her sides. He grabbed her hands and tried to calm her.

"Hermione, it's ok. Calm down, it's just me. Don't be scared, it's ok. Let me help you."

She however, continued to scream and fight him off. At the screams, his parents came rushing in the room, shocked of the scene in front of them.

"What happened?" asked Narcissa urgently.

"Now is not the time for that mother!" Draco ground furiously. "Help me! I need to calm her down! The tea is burning her skin."

Narcissa surreptitiously cleaned up the tea with a flick of her wand and dried Hermione's clothes. Hermione however, continued to scream in fright and panic.

Robert knelt next to them and took hold of Hermione's arms. He had previous experience in dealing with these situations. "It's ok child. Calm down. It's over. You are safe here, no one will hurt you."

With his father holding Hermione's hands, Draco caught her flailing head securely in his hands and forced her gently to focus on him.

"Hermione, look at me. It's ok. Sshhh, please calm down. It's fine, no one will hurt you here, I promise. You are safe, I promise Hermione. Calm down, you don't have to be afraid of us."

With Draco talking to her gently and using a small fraction of his Veela powers to calm her, Hermione managed to calm down a little and whimpers replaced the screams and fight. She stared at Draco, fright etched on her traits. Robert released her arms and stood up next to his mate.

"You see?" Draco said reassuringly to her. "You are perfectly safe. I am sorry I frightened you. It was not my intention. Please forgive me." He wiped her tears gently with his thumbs.

"How about we get you back in bed?" he asked gently.

Hermione nodded slowly; calming down and let Draco assist her in standing up. She got back in bed and settled again. Her eyes were downcast and she refused to look at anyone in their eyes.

Narcissa; having been through these phases before, knew how the girl must be feeling. She came near the bed and lifted Hermione's chin with her finger. "Hermione, it's alright. There is nothing to be ashamed of. I have been through this before and I assure you that you have no reason to be ashamed. Don't look down. You are a very courageous and wonderful girl. Be proud of who you are and hold that head up high."

Hermione stared at the three faces looking at her with something akin to love. She felt safe. _'Safer than I have ever felt at the Nott's'. _She did as she was told and when she got no remonstrations for doing so, a little smile pulled at her lips.

Narcissa beamed at her. "That's a lot better now, isn't it?"

"Would you like to finish your breakfast alone?" Draco asked kindly. "If you wish to be alone for a while, we understand."

Hermione stared at him for a few seconds and shook her head negatively. "Can you stay please?" she asked timidly, hesitation replacing fright on her face, her voice barely audible.

"I would love to," an ecstatic Draco assured her.

Robert and Narcissa found it amusing when they were immediately forgotten in the décor and they left silently.

…..

A few hours later, Hermione stumbled through a fireplace in a French pub, similar to the Leaky Cauldron and a pair of arms grabbed her and righted her up before she had the chance to fall squat on her face.

Looking up, she saw Draco smiling at her, while Narcissa was busy dusting her clothes off.

"I should have thought better than to give you pale coloured robes to wear when we had to floo travel. It doesn't matter now…" Narcissa rambled off, now dusting Hermione's hair.

Hesitantly, Hermione looked around her, unsure whether she could trust her surroundings or not. Her recent floo travel did not end up well as far as she knew. _'Do not think of it. Do not think of it now,'_ she thought desperately, trying to ward off the panicky feeling that threatened to overwhelm her again.

Draco, who had been conversing with his father about the precautions to take with Hermione accompanying them, stopped mid-sentence when he felt the feelings bubbling angrily in Hermione's mind. He took her hand gently, and sent her a wave of calm through his Veela connection.

Hermione looked up at him and smiled slightly at him, grateful for his help. She had rapidly learnt to identify these waves of foreign feelings as the doings of the young Lord and till now, he never gave her a single reason not to trust him.

Draco leaned forward and whispered in her ears, "It's going to be alright. You are safe with us. Don't worry. Just relax ok?"

She nodded slowly and for the first time, she didn't pull her hand out of his grasp.

Narcissa and Robert grinned at each other when they felt the spike of happiness coming from their son. They soon left, Narcissa and her mate leading the way and Hermione along with Draco, closely behind them.

As they exited the pub, Hermione's eyes darted here and there, trying to absorb everything around her. It was so colourful and vibrant with happiness.

"It's so beautiful. Where are we?" she whispered to Draco.

He chuckled and leaned close to her to whisper back. "We are in France, at L'Allée de La Magie. It's the renowned place in France to get all your magical supplies without attracting muggle attentions. It is quite like Diagon Alley back in England just that it's in France. Of course, there are other magical places like this. In time, I'll take you to those places."

"We are in France?...But how? When did we come here?" Hermione asked, startled. She looked around wildly, trying to find visual confirmation of this fact.

"For quite a while I believe." Draco replied; a bit shocked that his mate didn't know where she was for so long. "This is where the Nott's country house is found, in France. When I found you there, I brought you back to my father's estate…in France."

Hermione stayed silent at that piece of information, reeled from the reality of it all. A few tears escaped the confines of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

Draco started getting worried at once. "Hey, what is it? You are crying?"

"Draco stay close to us," Robert's voice was heard. He looked up and saw his parents a few paces ahead of them, waiting. When he looked back at Hermione, the tears were gone and she seemed impassive.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently. Hermione nodded and looked away. Sensing that she had closed up and brought up her defense, he decided to let the matter go for now. It was not the place to deal with this. He secured his hold on her hand and rushed to catch up with his parents, Hermione still obviously sad.

…..

_**Nott's Country House, France…..**_

Another chair came crashing against the wall of the living room. The portraits which were hung precariously close to the impact area shook with the crash. The occupant; a long forgotten ancestor, deserted his portrait and sought refuge with his neighbor portrait.

Theodore directed his wand to another dining chair and levitated it. He set fire to the chair and sent it crashing on the wall. The chair crumbled with the impact and the burning pieces of wood scattered on the rug. The fire picked up and spread along the rug. Two house-elves appeared, deftly put the fire out and then vanished away before their master's ire was directed against them.

"I WANT HER BACK! NO ONE LEAVES THEODORE NOTT WITHOUT PERMISSION!" He roared in fury and this time it was the coffee table which met the same fate as the chairs.

"THE BITCH! I'LL TEACH HER TO OBEY ME! SHE WILL LEARN TO SUBMIT TO MY RULE! I'LL BREAK HER BIT BY BIT, SAVOURING EACH MOMENT! WHERE IS SHE?" he yelled, all the while smashing another pieces of furniture.

"ELVES!" he yelled after a while. All the present elves in the house appeared a few meters from him and bowed immediately. "You are to search all the surrounding for her! I want her back in my possession very soon or things will definitely not look up for the lot of you! Do you understand?" he commanded in a threatening tone; no longer yelling. All the elves nodded, not daring to utter a single word before vanishing in search of the young servant who would most likely cause them a whole lot of grief at the hands of the young master Nott.

…

_**Several hours and later, LeFage Estate**_

The fireplace in the lounge of the large estate flared to life and one by one; one exhausted Hermione, two disgruntled male Veelas and a revigorated female Veela stepped through one after the other and handed their coats to the elf which had popped instantly upon their arrival. Narcissa handed over around fifty bulging shopping bags to two house-elves with instructions to unpack everything in the new room. Draco eyed the load of bags and wondered if he will have to order some PepperUp potion for the poor elves.

"What new room are you talking about, mother?" he asked suspiciously.

"Hermione's room of course," Narcissa replied incredulously. "You can hardly expect Hermione to stay in your room indefinitely. A girl needs her space," she stated haughtily, causing her mate and her son to roll eyes. At that, Narcissa announced that she was going to check on her beloved flowers all alone and left the lounge. Robert wandered after his mate and Draco started wondering if any checking will actually will be done.

On turning to see what his mate was planning to do for the rest of the evening, he found her dozing off in an armchair found near the fireplace. He knelt by her side and gently called out to her. She awoke drowsily and stared at him for a few seconds, clearly trying to focus.

"I am sorry," she apologized quickly on realizing what happened. "I never meant to sleep off like that…"

Draco shushed her gently with a finger on her lips. "Don't worry about it. Father and I both feel the same; knackered to the bone. It is always the case when we have to accompany mother for shopping."

Hermione stared at him in shock. "It is always like that?"

Draco chuckled and nodded in amusement. It was funny to see her reactions to his mother's antics.

Hopefully his mate would be to exhaustive shopping sprees and he will be spared. "That is my mother for you. How about we get you to bed for a nice nap?"

Hermione started shaking her head in negation but Draco stalled her. "Don't say no. You need the rest.

Even I, despite being used to mother's crazy shopping habits, need some rest. Come on, let's go."

He helped her to her feet and held her hand as they walked together to his room. Hermione was so tired that she forgot to keep her guards up and just allowed the young Lord to lead her to his room. Once there, he helped slip under the covers, tucking her carefully. Hermione's eyes started drooping once more, lulled by the softness of the sheets. She tried to keep her eyes open but Draco shushed her once more.

"Close your eyes and stop fighting off the sleep. You are safe, I promise. I am nearby if you ever need me."

Smiling, Hermione slowly whispered thanks as sleep claimed her. Draco smiled, relieved that she was finally resting. He settled in the nearby couch and allowed slumber to pull him to the land of dreams; knowing that his mate was finally safe with him.

…

To Be Continued…


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